


Radar

by hay_lin10101



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Magic, and soul stuff, at least nothing that's planned, but nicknames arent a reference to their gender, if anything it will lean on female, is alphys and undyne, loads of magic stuff, lots of ghosty enounters, no romantic stuff, or im doing my best to make it that, reader is freeform, the only known relationship in this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-27
Updated: 2016-02-04
Packaged: 2018-05-16 17:47:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5834956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hay_lin10101/pseuds/hay_lin10101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyday it's the same thing; you wake up, go to work, eat, and sleep. Nothing is interesting about your life, and there's not many to talk about it with. Two friends, a single dad trying to get out there, and an apartment that feels too big on your own.</p><p>At least you always have company there of the ghostly kind.</p><p>But a commotion about some mountain happens, apparently monsters exist, but now you have new issues with these new ghosts. You don't know what to make of them, but the company you won't deny. And the other ghosts adore them.</p><p>Now 4 months later, you get some new neighbors from across the hall.</p><p>And you're not too sure on how to deal with it all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my first fanfic in a long time involving characters that aren't my own in a long time, and my first being a reader fanfic. And this POV.
> 
> So I hope you enjoy it! I have lots of plans for this.

This isn’t your normal sort of dreams. The calm and pale pastels of your dreams were replaced by many new colours. Bright colours. Brighter than what you’re used to. Lots of noise surrounds you, growing more and more, from whispers to yells, voices of many kinds. Some are pleas, demands, requests, and others are cries, proclamations, wishes, and regrets. But they all get mixed together. Nothing is making sense. And they continue to pound on you, push you down, trying to force you to take it in, but you can’t. You just can’t, there’s too much to handle, too much to look over, it’s all too much. You’ve tried this, again and again, but they are relentless and you haven’t been able to contain it to something you can manage. They don’t stop, they don’t think, they don’t consider how you feel, they just want to get their word in, and you just want them to stop.

A nightmare.

More light bursts in, more of the _dreaded bright colours_ but the sounds are gone. All the bright colours, they fade away, until you returned to the comfortable pastels. You feel like you’re able to stand again. And you did. You look around the pastels and find spots of bright colours. Calm, bright colours. It was weird, normally the bright colours are the worst, their voices screaming at you, but these don’t. These six bright colours around you watch, waiting for something, something from you? You’re not sure what to do. You haven’t been in a dream like this, dealt with such powerful colours that held still instead of insist. You’ve never been so nervous and calmed at a sight like this. With a deep breath, you took hold of what bravery you had and call out to them.

_“Hello. I’m ______. What are your names?”_

Flashes of white cover your eyes. Holes in the white let you see for a moment the waiting colours among the now saturating pastels. Darkness consumes you before they could reply.

* * *

A horrible ringing noise causes you to force your eyes open. You peak your head out of the covers in search of the source; your phone. Groaning, you pull your arm out of the warmth to grab it, only to hear a loud thump and the continuing ringing. Pushing further, you continue your blind search on the ground with your free hand, going further and further away from the frame. You mumbled curses to the thing as you searched, not noticing how far away you were going until you find yourself falling face first into the carpet, yelping and the blanket following. You strain your head to see the damn cell phone in front of you, and press the snooze button. You untangle yourself from the bed and blankets and sit yourself on the floor to check your messages. Jennifer, a co-worker and close associate of yours from college – one of the few you could actually call a friend – drunk texted you about a wonderful bar that opened up, with some less than pleasant words about the clientele. With a sleepy grin, you replied for her to work on her hangover so she was able for Monday.

Looking over to your drawers, you notice a couple of candles are lit. You raise an eyebrow, trying to think of who it might be. “It can’t be Louise, it’s too early,” you mumbled to yourself. You get on your feet and make your way to the den and kitchen area to see Bernie and Xao sitting on your couch, sipping what looked like tea. You mumble a hello to them as they continue their conversation, stopping briefly to wave to you. Turning on the coffeemaker, you rest your weight on the kitchen counter and think. Your dream was different, especially at the end. Six. The number struck you as odd. Why six? An omen? A sick trick from the depths of your mind? Being six years old wasn’t the best, but it’s mostly a blur for you anyway.

And then the flash of white. You couldn’t make out who it was, or if it even was a ‘who’ in the first place. And if it were a ‘who’, what did they try to do with poor blindfold.

The coffeemaker beeped. You grab a mug and pour yourself a cup, two milks, one sugar, as always, and head over to the couch. Taking a seat next to Xao, you grab the remote and turn on the news. “Great, another heatwave to greet the day,” you mutter into your cup.

“Oh hush up about the heat! Why did you even come to this city if you knew of its summers?” the high voice of Bernie is almost grating against your ears. The coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.

“Because I have a good paying job here that allows me to buy all the candles I need and the weird teas you drink. I’m pretty sure the owner of that musty shop knows me by name now because of you.” You’re pretty sure the owner has offered you other things from your frequency to the shop, but you didn’t know Mandarin. You don’t plan on doing that anytime soon.

“Well, excuse me Miss. High and Mighty, but not everyone here can just grab this stuff willy-nilly like you.”

“I wonder why.” You take a long drink of your coffee, awaiting a reply or a new interference.

“Now now, we both know how hard it is find your tea, so please, let them speak their mind every now and again Bernice,” Xao always knows what to say to calm her down. It makes you happy they’re always around in pairs; lord knows how you’d deal with Bernie alone.

“Thank you Xao!”

Bernie huffs. “Fine. But this isn’t over.”

“When is it ever over with you?” You raise an eyebrow at them and continue staring at the screen. Another car accident. Not near your apartment, but it might be crowded to head there, so you’d need a detour for the area when you go shopping.

The headlines continue on the same path; accidents, updates on global issues, something about a mountain-

Wait. You know that mountain. You see it every morning as you leave for work. Mt. Ebott. You heard of the rumours, and had been tempted to go there for a weekend trip, if the weather ever permitted you safe passage. Maybe get your dad there for some father-child bonding.

You sit up to read the headline properly and go a little bug-eyed. For a moment you thought Bernie’s tea was starting to hit you after all these years, but Xao reads aloud the headline.

**“Monsters Return to the Surface; Legends Not So Much Legends”**

You stare a long while, seeing bipedal goats, slimes, one-eyed creatures, skeletons, and amphibious people crowd the screen. Among them is a single human, a child at that, grinning from ear to ear as they are crowded by the monsters, who appear to be giving the child a massive group hug? In their arms is what appears to be a flower with a face – and not happy one at that.

You’d think you’d be more surprised. Monsters are real. You’d think you would have spit out your coffee by now.

Maybe if your life was normal you would have done exactly that.

“Well, I thought all that monster talk about the mountain was poppycock.”

You nod in agreement. "Ditto."

“Clearly it isn’t.” Xao mused. “You think they will coming to live in the city?”

“I certainly hope not! I mean, look at all the musty air and smog there is there! It’s a relief we are actually on the cleaner end of it, do you think they will enjoy that sort of environment?” you think that Bernie meant something good for the monsters in it. You had no qualms with going into the city when you had work, but you had to agree with the smog.

“Bernie, while I agree with you, why does that of all things, matter to you?” you ask her, slouching further into your seat. “It’s not like you feel anything or breathe in the city air.”

“I can dream, can’t I?”

“You can dream?” that got you sitting upright. “You’re a ghost. A lingering spirit. The remains of a soul. How do you dream?!”

“Magic!” she did that wiggly finger thing you would watch parents do to children. She knows how much you hate that.

And how much you can’t stand her lingering with her strange tea if not for Xao. Xao always makes it calmer in your home, and gives you peace of mind. Louise is always yammering, but they mean well, and they enjoy the same shows as you. If a word that came to mind with these three, you would think “family”.

Your weird family. An 18th century Southern woman bent on having her favourite tea, that has a gaping hole in her right shoulder, a ninety year-old Chinese man who wants nothing more than company and a good chat, and your pseudo-sibling who signs to you when their speech is too garbled from the remaining damage on their throat, and likes to come around only after 2 in the afternoon.

Now all you needed was nosy neighbours in the empty apartment across the floor.


	2. Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new soul, a new look on an old saying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I'm so happy to have this chapter finished, I'm really excited to see how it goes.
> 
> We meet more souls, and learn little bits about more of the humans the reader interacts with!
> 
> Also I'm really trying my best to edit it on my own, so if there are any big errors in the writing, let me know! Unless it's the tense I write it as throughout. I'm always all over the place with that.

You slam the door shut and release a groan that you’ve held in for _so_ long. It wasn’t one of your better days. You got called in for an early meeting regarding your latest novel, which ended up taking longer than you expected with the additional editor who somehow decided they could intervene and question everything you and your editor said. You skipped breakfast thinking it would have been quicker, but the addition extended a thirty minute meeting into a two hour meeting. You were leaving the office grumbling, but offering a sympathetic look to your editor; he returned the look. And once again, you got held up by the same secretary with all of their ideas that you were told, as usual, would be just perfect to include in your next novel. But honestly, how in the world can robots and aliens work in a ghost story? You wrote mysteries, not sci-fi! Placating them took a lot out of you, and they knew how to shorten your deadlines; you couldn’t just spout what you wanted all willy-nilly, could you?

Oh dear lord, Bernie has finally gotten into your head.

And then there was the grocery store. Everything had been fine until you got to the dairy. Checking the carton of milk in your hands, you got slammed into the door by a small child running around, jolting you to drop it on top of your feet and open. You and the child were soaked at your shoes, and the latter wailed, despite your best efforts, until a manager and their mother finally came. You tried to explain the situation, but their mother wouldn’t let you get a proper word in, demanding that you paid for the now ruined clothes. She wasn’t even in the aisle when it happened. The manager was able to intervene long enough to divert her attention away to a rather generous gift of having her groceries for free. You weren’t given the same luxury; just a consoling pat on the shoulder, the nod of understanding of having to deal with people like her, and a mention of the janitor coming to clean the floor. Your shoes were wet, sticky and squeaking the entire way back home. _Couldn’t spare a sorry from any of their mouths?_ You thought bitterly.

With a thump you drop your bags on the couch and after kicking off your ruined shoes did you follow on the next cushion. Your apartment felt too big for you right now; no one but yourself was around. You considered just holing up into your bedroom and sinking into your massive king bed. The many pillows and blankets made it look more like fort than a bed, making it perfect for the nights filled with chatter and Netflix with Jennifer or Louise. Bernie would surely complain that you decided to stay in and wallow rather than getting out and about to burn it off.

You checked the candles again; nothing still. The entire place was littered with many candles, all of different sizes, colours, and scents, but each used very well by your family. They always had a thing for burning something when they are around, so why not candles? You let them even pick their favourite scents, as long as they were light; you don’t want to worry of the headaches the stronger ones gave you. That reminds you, that you had to go out and buy some more of Xao’s lemon lavender candles.

But not today. Today was a day to relax, unwind, and clean up your pants. Screw secretaries, screw bullheaded editors, screw that store managers, screw that mother, and especially screw that kid. You don’t want to deal with anymore kids today. You slip off your pants and throw them in the empty basket you left by the couch last night. A thump made you realize you still had your phone in the pockets. Picking it out of the pocket, you find another update on the monster situation. It’s been two weeks since the reveal and you’ve been interested in seeing how it was going. You haven’t seen any in the city, but everyone’s been in a buzz about them; it was currently curiosity, but if history told you anything, it would surely turn into something less pleasant. At least you knew that Jennifer wouldn’t be one of them; her excitement proved to be better than any news feeds you had. You did worry for the day she meets a monster though. At her rate, she might pass out at trying to say hello to them.

So far, negotiations were shaky, but going well. No one was taking the kid the monsters called their ambassador very seriously, but the monster king’s stature and appearance certainly helped their influence. Their only concern was to live peacefully with humans. You wondered how long it will take for humans to twist their words.

You pull yourself up to go and put away your groceries before some of them started to melt. Once done, you head into your room and grab a pair of sweatpants. As you tug them on, you heard a sound.

The sound of a lighter. Louise was here.

“H̢̗͎͙̖̜e҉͎͕̠̰̺̞̠y̶͚!҉̙ ̵Ẉ͡h͉͙͘ͅe̮̞̲̬͘r̤͚̖̲͇̙è ̡͈̲̞̰̭͚y͏a͢ ̕a͓͟t ̡S̛͖hu̜̻̲̗̠t̥̗̙͉̭̠̝t͉̙̩ẹ̫̰̜r̝̰͉b̛̠͙u͎͈͚g̤̦̘?̯͈̻̙͢” (Hey! Where ya at Shutterbug?)

“In my room!” you hollered back. Louise comes bounding in with a very excited look on their face. Today they were wearing a 1920s flapper dress with a leather jacket and military boots. You always questioned their taste in fashion, but you never dared to ask when the nicest thing you have has stayed in a garment bag for almost half a year and you still refuse to take it out.

 

“Yͩͭ͋ͤoͧ̾ͨͫ͑ùͦ͜'́͂͋l̃ͣ͊͑͌l͒ͯ͐͒ͬͤ̚ ͥ̽̆ͦ̋ͫͣñ̔̍ͫe̎ͤ͛̇͊̑̀vēͦ͛ͣ̾̏̚r̷̋͒̃ ̏̉g̉u̇̄̽e̴ͯs̓̔̄̓͜s̀ ̾̇ͩ͂͊w̡͋͒ͯ̈h̷̉ͯͣͬ͛ąͧt͗̐ͥ̔͋ ̎̌I ͪ͗saͦẘͦ͛̈́͛́͒ ̴ͫ͑̍t̶͑ͫ̈ͮo̽̒ͮ͊͐d̢ͤͩaͥ̀y ͝ï̵ͥn̒̒͞ ̉̈́ͧ͌̏ͦt̍͒̀͠ḧ́̅͋ͬ̚a̧ͥͣ̌̃͒̚ ͒̒ͫ͂̈̎͌̕p̃̽͋ͯ̄ͣ̚͞aͦ̿͗͝r͟kͫ̍͐ͨ͆͗͒͞!̒͗͜” (You'll never guess what I saw today in tha park!)

“The park? You mean the one some blocks down from here? Next to the high school?”

 

“͋Tͫ͒͊ͤh̶͋͌ͫã̵̑̉ ̌ͥ̄̓͂̌͢v̌̂̏ͨ̌͞eͪ̐r̶̿yͩ̓ͫ ͜s͑̾ͣ̿͋̋̅͟a͌ͭ̈́̋m̾ͫͪ̚é͒ͪ̇̌͆!͐͆̇̉̊ͥ ͫ̒̚Ḧ̛ͤ͂͌eͦ͆͆͆̋̚r̊̇ͭͬ̃̉eͩͥͦ ̛̌̋̋I̡͊̿ͦ ̿͒̔â̧ͦ̿mͯ,̷̄͆ ̴̊̔ͥ͊̆sǐ͟t̸͌̐̅͛ͤt͌̓̂͋̌ͨ͆iͤ̑͛ͬͭ͢n'̶̐̈ ͆̐͌ͥa͡r̷ͩ̈́ͦ̃o͜ū̷nͮ̑͑͛̈́͠d̛ͥ̊̐ ̅ͪ̅ͥ̈́a̔ͨ̀ͪ̄̅͡n̊ͬ̈ͫ̐͂̓d̢̊ͬͤͪ̊̿̊ ̓̐ͪ̽̾ͩ̍w̐͗ͥa͆ͪt̢̔͋̆ͬ͗ch̡͛͐̈́ͣ͆̍͌ḯͭn'̵̾̃̏̒ ͫ̽̎҉t̾͗͆͌͂̚ḧ́̐̔a̶̅ ͛ͤ͒̄̍b̷ͩ͛̄i̒̍ͦͪ̎r̵͊ͫͭ̾d̛ͯ̅̓s͋͠,ͯ̓̎ͤ͐͛̇ ̇ͨ̌͋̎̈́̓͜w̛ḣ͗ͤ̃̉̂ëͪ̌͢n͋ͮ͗̾̌͘ ͮ̈̅I̒̉͆̚͝ ̛̆̃̌ͦ̐s̃ͮ̕eͯ̾̌ͤ͛̾e̡ ͊̆ͩ̔̓̒̔a̚͜ ̀̚͏m̑ͤ̇on̊̐͡s͆̆͟t̀a̓̾ͬ̐͊͡ ̎d͌̓̏râͯ̅w̶̋̒͌įͦ̀n̉͂̅̍̈́͒'̍ͫ̌̾ ̃̊ͭf́̿ͩ͜r̅ͧ̓ởm͟ ̈́ͮ͑t̛ͧ͊̏͌̋ͫh̉ͮ̒̇a͛̐ͭ͌ ̨̍͂̿̎ͩ̅͗e͑̔d̿̍͌̽͋g̋̉ͫe̍̃ͦ̈̾͌̄ ͩ̃ͪͯͩ̌ȍf̀͌̍̾ tͩͧ̍h̷́a͌ ̵̑̏ͨͬͯ́fͬȏ̴̐̊̂̎r̓͊̀͢e̛ͫͮ̿́͋̈̚sͫt͗̅̾ͭ!” (Tha very same! Here I am, sittin' around and watchin' tha birds, when I see a monsta drawin' from tha edge of tha forest!) Halfway through, their words are so garbled they sign the rest to you.

“Really? I thought they were told to stay in the vicinity of Mt. Ebott for the time being?”

“That ̀for̨e̸st̕ i̢s̀ ̶cl͝ose eǹo͜ugh͏ t̴a ͞th̕a ́m̕òunt͞ài͠n.̡ N̴o҉ ͘hu͏man͜s we͘r̢e ̡’roun̢d, s̸o̢ they͏ ͞wer͠e̡ a͟b͘le͠ ̧ta ͘m͝ak҉e so͝me̡ n̨ic̀e ̨draw̴i̛n̵'͟s ͢b̨e̕f͟o̵re tha ̧b̡i͘rd̨s lef̡t.͘ The͟y w̸er͜e ͢s̛o qùiet,̧ I̵ ͞d͏id̴ņ'͘t͏ th͢in͡k͜ ̀I̧ coul̛d̷ be̶ ̨s͜urp͡r̷is̴ęd like̵ th̀at ́an͟y͜mo'́.̢” (That forest is close enough! No humans were ‘round, so they were able ta make some nice drawin's before tha birds left. They were so quiet, I didn't think I could be surprised like that anymo'.)

“Now you’re making me jealous. I was stuck in a horrid meeting and had to deal with the most ‘perfect idea for a story’ again.” You made air quotes to emphasize. Louise crossed their arms and gave an understanding nod.

“Ḅ̘a͓r̠̱̥̹̮͕͝k̤l̬̤̩̜̗̣é̥̳y̭͕̺̺̜̱̹ ̜̦̯̝tr̻͖̳̞͙i̲e͏̠͙d̠̯̪̱͖̻͞ͅ ͎̭͇͖̱̰ͅț̫͢á̞͚ ̟̩͈̫ş̟̹t̹̫̦͉ri̼k̠̯̺̬é̼̦͎̙̩͇ ̤̺̬̕a̮̞g̯͍̩̻̕a̧̰͉̱̻i̶̮̞n͚̫̱͔ͅ?̱̳͡” (Barkley tried ta strike again?)

 

“Yep. And a kid decided that I just had to get milk all over my shoes and pants to complete my look.”

 

“Y̢̅͊̿̆̽̅͑ͮa̸̅͊̊̄͌͂ͧ̈͆͝ ̒̏̆̄͏̷̡mͮͨ̓̚͜͢͏e͛͌̀̉̃ͮͫ̂a̒͋̌̇ͤͫ̂̐ͯ̕ǹ̇ ̶͐̆̎̒̇̂̌͡t̶̸̨ͬ͗̊̿̀ͬͮͤḩͧ̔͠͠a̡͂̀ ͭ̅ͣ͆ͫ҉̛ô̓͋̾̆̓̿̆nͭ̈́͞e̴̡ͭ̊̐͐ͥͥ̈́͑͑sͫ̓̄͑́͒ͣͮ ͆͆͛̀͘Ĭͭ̚͟ ̡̇̈́̽w̴̽͘a̧̾̈͠nͣ̈́̓̌ͮtͣ̀e̿̿͏̨d͊ͪ͗̈̓ͫͣ́͌ ̢͂ͯ͐̓͋y̵ͬ͐̈́̈̄͑̆oͭ͋ͥͬͧ̓ͭ͑̀ų̀̀ ̓̽͆͟ṫ̸̈́͂̓ͫͬ́aͬ͗҉ ̵ͧ͆̇̆ͩͦ̄̀w͒̆̃̒̀ͧ͠e̔ͩ̓͘͟a̋͟͞r̔ͬͮ̍̏͝ ͛̈́ͨ̉͛҉́m̋ͩ͌̊ͩ́͞o̾̌ͭ҉͏ŗ̷͆̀êͮ̄͌ͨ͌̒̆͡ ̅ͭ̽͌͌̓͗̀̀o̵̢̽̐̓fͪͮ̏̀͛̈́͠tͨ̒͒ͭ̾ͯ͊ͧę̊̈́̄̌̇͢ņͧ̆̂?ͨͭ̏̎̅̇ͤ” (Ya mean tha ones I wanted you ta wear more often?) You nod. Louise’s flame flares as they scream bloody murder on the child.

 

“̛̝͙̫̬͙͙ͦ̚O̶̮̼͍̽̏ͩ̾́h̶͕̥ͥ̈́̐̋͠ ̷̭̠͙̺͔̤̔͒ͯͩ͗͢c̨̝͚̯̞̹͉̬̍ͯ̚͝͞ͅó͇ͯͫͪ͡m͖ͪ̑̈́̐͢͡e̒̊̈́ͪ̆͢͠҉̳̯͔͓ ̈ͬͤ̔͗́̀҉̻͚̺͈̤͟ơ̢͙ͦͩ̽͘n̷̡͇̳͙̱̮̔̋ͩ̈̌͑ͪ͐ͅ!̰̟͓̮̃ͮ͌ͬ̇͛͂ͧ͌́ ̴̲̠̪͖̬͈͍͖͂̏̆̉̐̅͢T̥͙̽͑̋̓̉h̭̹̜͋̋́͟͠eͯ͏̶̙y̦̲ͯ̒̿ͦͩ ͈͉͎̼̫̍̇̚ẅ̷̸̙̙̰̖͓̺̾̿̒ͨ̽͑̇͡ě͔̻̃͛̾̊̋ṛ̥̑̀̏ͮ̂̆̑͐̆̕e̻̮̟̘͈̞̹ͨ̂̃ ͐͋͋̈̽̈͏̴͈̥̜̱͓m̨̘̘͓͚̖ͧͭͧ̏̍̈́ͅạ̸̵̦̍͆̔͑̾̈̂̒͐̀ ͣͮ͆̚̕͏̼͔̗͙̹̥̙̦f̨̣̣̲̮̺̃̾ͬ̄ͣ̚ǎ̵̺̟͖̟͎̮v̶̷̪̹ͩͦ͑̅̐̈́̽ͭͅo̷̲̖̯̦̠͋̋ͥ̋͗ͯͭ̿u̢̮̟͓̫̝̝̤̅̉̔ͦͯ̕r̼͐̌͊́̚͟i̷̡͉͇͍͙̹̬͈ͭ͂̍ͪ̏t̺͕̹̳͍̝̓̊̓ͫͦ̌ě̝̖̲̪̱͌͐͑ ̶͓͈̥̖̳͚̬̬̻̔͗̏̀͟p̢͚͇̦̘͇̹̍ͩ͞a͉̻͈̩͉̓̊͌̅ͤ̅ͥ̆̀ͅi̴͙͉͗̒͊͊̐̓ͫ̔͘r̷̥̳̯̱̥̖̮ͣ͌́̕ ͩͫ͌ͪ͊͋҉͓͙̀ț̞̗͒̈̌̊ͭ̀ͧͥ́͢ä́͊ͤͩͧ̚҉͇̮̼̯̳͖͔̠̮ ̡̻̗̳͕ͬͯ̓͟s̝͈̖͕̭͇͕̓̊̿̆̎̏͡e̵̯̮̿̈́̐̈́̆ͦ͟ē̩̦̣̭͉̟̗͗̄̄̾̿̋̔͜ͅ ̨͚̫̉ͫ͂ͮ͂̽y̴̴̢̩̯͚̺̟̫̱͔͌ͥͦ̋͂̊a̵̧̖͓̻͍͎̜ͦ̐ͮ̓̑̌̊̚ ̛̭͉͈̬͂̄ͅw͎͓ͥ̆̐̇̓̀ͤ̊ͤ͡e̡ͨ̓̓̀̃͏̗͈͔̠̬̖̬ͅą̛̤͓͙̤͖̙̺̤͓͛ͭ́͒͢r̛̫͇ͬͧ̑͞!̦̬̱̬̼̻̯̈ͅ” (Oh come on! They were ma favourite pair ta see ya wear!)

 

“Uh, Louise? Mind repeating that? I could hardly understand.” They grumbled, complying your request with a sour look on their face. You smile once you understood; Louise demanded you get them for Christmas as a gift to yourself only to discover your dad sent you a pair when he was on a business trip. “It’ll be fine; I’m sure I can order another pair online if I can’t clean it thoroughly.”

Louise muttered something, most likely more curses on the child, but you didn’t pay heed to them. Your stomach growled loudly, reminding you of your missed breakfast. Louise chuckled and shooed you towards the kitchen. You couldn’t bring yourself to make anything, so you opted to grab a banana instead. Plopping down on the couch, you turn on the TV and have the news running. Louise takes a seat next to you, and another pout quickly forms on their face. “Now what?” you inquired with a smile.

“W͔͙͈͓h̙̹̩͉y̖̠̙͖̼ ̴̼̠̩̩͍̤a̩̣͙̺r̹̙e̜̣̳̖͟ͅ ͘w̯͇̩̬̬̼ͅḛ͔̠͢ ͎͚̙̳̖̞͝w̬͎a̙͇̝̗͉̝t̷͍̣̺̙͇cẖ̦̘̭̭ͅi̦͈̠̲̬n͏̗̰' ̵͎͙̯ͅt̘̠͎͍̦̹͟h̳̣a͍͍̝͚̙̝͓̕ ̧n͉̘͕̳̹̩͘e̩͚w̬͉̘s̳̟̜̫̝͎̣?̫̳̲́T͚̣h̺̭̞̣e̮rè͈̪ͅ'̯̥͉̮s̲̣̳̟ ̖̣th͖͖̪̟͓̼̜͝a̶ ̢̗͖͓ṇ͉̩̥e͓̹̺w̙̜̪̦̻ ̼̼͎̱ḙp͎̰̜͖i̼̤̯͘s͠ǫ͎d͈̦ȩ̮̰̦͎ ̱͚̦̜f̨̬o̦̹̗'̨͍̝̫͔͍ ̶͍͖͎͎̻̩o͏̻̭͙͖̝͍̟u̸̖̥̬̝͎͎r͟ ̪s̘̟̻̦̬̲h̷̹̺̭̫̭̩̻o̯͙̘̼͉͓̘̕w̟̟̖,҉ ̙̫͕̟̬̀ͅr̡̪̦͎̮̘͚̳i̖̪͔͚͎͖̯g̮̰̕h̫͍̹͉͔̙͡t͙̞͓̩ͅ?҉͕” (Why are we watchin' tha news? There's tha new episode fo' our show, right?)

 

“Xao was watching it last night. I’ll find the recording and we can watch it.” With a few clicks of the remote, you started up the episode and ate. Louise made their usual commentary during the show, but once the banana peel was thrown away, you couldn’t concentrate and started to fiddle with the necklace you wore. It consisted of a small piece of wood with a hole in the middle and shaped in a triangle; you have worn it for so long you forgot when you even got it.

Eventually all of the anger you had took its toll on you and combined with watching your necklace’s movements, you started to doze off halfway through the episode. You succumbed to sleep easily.

* * *

You woke up to feeling something nudge you. Your stomach hurt, most probably from how little you ate today, but the smell of cooked food and the sound of arguing took priority. Forcing your eyes open, you look around to see the TV paused, a blanket over your lap, and Louise nowhere near you. From the kitchen, you hear the remains of an argument or a conversation, but couldn’t recognize the voices.

“Are you awake?”

You jumped in your spot, tense at the voice; it was not a voice you were used to. Looking around, you found Louise in the kitchen staring at something on the stove, Xao watching over them, and Bernie at the small dining table looking very displeased; you could only imagine what she and Louise might have been arguing about.

“Excuse me? Are you okay?” the same voice again. In front of you was a child covered in green, and how you didn’t notice them first you weren’t sure of. His look of concern has

you nodding to assure him before you found your voice.

“Yeah, I was just tired... Long day.” His face instantly brighten, the green around him reacting the same way. That was new.

“That’s good. You didn’t look all that comfortable in your sleep, like you were having a bad dream.”

You were going to respond, but as if on cue, your stomach made its presence known. With a weak laugh, you said. “That was why.”

“Oh! Your friend with the jacket mentioned something about having only a banana today?”

Louise hollered their name, and the child – surprised by their volume – tightened their hold on a frying pan they held. You started to pull yourself up, but you felt like you were pushed back down. “Now now, he was very generous to make you a meal, so why don’t you just sit and wait? Like you said, you’ve had a long day.”

“He made food?” you look to the kid scurrying off into the kitchen and back at Xao in confusion. He only smiled and moved to sit next to you. You knew ghosts could touch you and anything you had on you, but they had to be almost right next to you if they wanted to grab and touch other things unless you placed permissions like the teacups and teapot for Bernie and Xao. But lo and behold, the kid returns with a steaming bowl of rice mixed with something gooey and a spoon. At his offer, you take the bowl from him and take a small spoonful of it as he waits with anticipation; it certainly smelled good. Your stomach protested at the wait, so you dug in.

It was delicious! You ended up wolfing down half the bowl before you were forced to take some water at Xao’s insistence. The gooey stuff you learnt was the smoked cheese you bought today, and it had some egg and a few spices mixed into it. “I haven’t had anything this good in a long time,” you said once the bowl was empty. “Thank you. What your name, anyway?”

“My name?” he seemed perplexed, like he didn’t know it. “Call me Green.”

Guess he either knew it but preferred not to say it, or he really couldn’t remember. You nod and introduce yourself to them. “So what brings you to my humble abode of craziness?”

“Me?”

“Yes you, Greenie. It’s not like many spirits come here just to make me food out of the goodness of their heart. Have you come to chat? Just saying I don’t do requests; the last time I did that I almost lost my mind by the number of people coming to me.”

“I’m… I’m not sure.” He looked very confused. “I think I was asleep for some time, but then I woke up, and I’m not sure why, but I came to the call.”

You raise an eyebrow. “The call?”

“Yeah. Something about it said you were in need of help, so I did what I do best; cooking.”

Well, this was new. “I’m pretty sure I didn’t ‘call’ anyone.”

“Oh dearie, you make a call, and it was pretty loud.” Bernie replies. “Why do you think dear Louise came before two? Didn’t you notice the time?”

“They did?” Louise nodded at that.

Bernie placed a consoling hand your shoulder. “Honey, they came at one in the afternoon; your deal with that editor took a bigger toll on you than you think.”

“Oh man, I didn’t know that. You’d think I’d have this down well enough considering how long I’ve been trying to make sense of this.” You press your hands to your face to suppress your groan. “They were especially hard on me and Gerry today; I bet Gerry had it worse when I actually left.”

“It’ll be fine,” Xao says. “Gerald’s very headstrong, and very faithful to you and your work. That stubbornness of his does have some advantages you know.”

 

In your mind you couldn’t just brush it off like that though. You were going to voice it but Louise cut you off before you began.

 

“Eͫ̎̃̐̎̎̓̌̋҉n̑ͭơ̛̋̉̒ͣ̒̚ũͤͬͮ̚͞g̓̐̇ͩ͌̌̅̑͏h͌ͩ̀ͮ̂̉ͦͯ͏͜ ̸̢̐̓ͯ͆͡s̊̉ͧͤ͏͝͏a̡̓̉ͣ͘d̿͗͐͛ͨͫͥͥͥn̓́̂é̓͒͒̎ŝ̍ͬ̒̃s͋̑̋̽͞!̃͗ͪ̔̚ ̑̊̌L͒͛̀̋̑́eͫ͏t̨̛͛͗̋͢'ͥ̓̓̀̌͝s̒ͮ̿̃̔̅͝ ̊ͦ͋ͫ̀̃̏̅͝͝w͑̑͜ȁͩ́͌ẗ̷̡́ͪ̏̑͑͗͂͝cͯͣ͘h̋͛ͣ́ͮ͟ ̍ͣs̏̐͌ͨo̡̽ͮͮ̃͒ͧ҉̸m̛̄ͫ͘͟e̛̐ͫ̀͞ ̷ͮ̅cͭͬ̊̈̃͌ȧͤrͮ̿̓͟ťͥͤͧͮ̇̇oͦ̈́ͬ́ͣ́͏̷ơ̶̐̇͒̉ͥ͜nͬ͐̈́̃̾̉ͣ͡s̵̢̾̌!̨ͮ̉ͪ̊̏̔́͟” (Enough sadness! Let’s watch some cartoons!)

“Cartoons?” Greenie asked. ”Why cartoons?”

“C͏a͏ù̶s͠é̶ ̨I̶͝ ̡b̡͡et̛ ̶̶̕y͜͡a̢ ̴́ha̷̢v̢͝e̶̢҉n̷͠'̶̡ţ҉ ͢s͡e̶e̵͜n͏ ͜͏th̴a͞҉ ̢n̕é͠w͢ ̧s̴̡͞t̨u͏f͝f҉̶͝ ͠s͟inće̵̛̕ ̸͡y̶̢a͏͟ b̛͏é̶̕e̵n̨͘͡ ͟͠s̵̛͜l̶͡ée̡̢͠p͠į͡n͞'̸̀͢!̷҉ Co̶͘m̕͟é ̛ơ̢n ́͜͞G̷̛ŕ̕e͡e͞n̢i͝e,̀ ̵t̴̕h̶̡͝ey͘ ̶̢go̷͘t̡͡ ̡̨̕a͡ ̸̶̴l͏͏otta ͘҉c̡̡̡a̛͟͠rt҉͞ò̴on͜ś͞ t͘҉a̛ ́ẁ͝a̵̢t͟ç̛͜h͘,̧̀͜ ̨̢͠a͞ń͜͞' ̴w͘e̡̛͠ do̴̢͢n̨͢͜'̴t̴̡ ͏҉͠h͏a̡͞͝f͝͏t͏a͘͝͠ w͘orr͟y ͟͠͠àb̕͠ǫ̴́u͘t ̢͢t̷̕h͡a ̧͢a̧nǹo͠y̶͝ì͘͝n͏'͢ ̡c̢̀o̴̵͢mme̢͡͝r̡͟c̨͟i̧a̛͟lş!̧͘”(Cause I bet ya haven't seen tha new stuff since ya been sleepin'! Come on Greenie, they got a lotta cartoons ta watch, an' we don't hafta worry about tha annoyin' commercials!)

“You sure this isn’t a ploy to get us to watch another show you found today?” you give them a knowing look, but they pretend not to notice and continue begging you to turn it on. You relent to their demands though and turn on one of them as you prepare some tea for Bernie and Xao. When you return, both Louise and Greenie are sitting on the floor, captivated and staring at the screen, Greenie having even placed their frying pan on the ground as he watched. You couldn’t help but chuckle at that and watch the cartoon with them as Bernie and Xao drink and chat at the table again.

Partway through, Greenie would start to ask questions about the episode, and Louise did their best to explain without spoiling it for him. Into the eighth episode, you pull out your phone and start going through your news feeds again, checking if anything Louise mentioned got caught on the news. Thankfully, there wasn’t anything that had monsters painted in a bad light so far.

You really wished it wouldn’t happen anytime soon.

A tug on your sleeve alerted you to the present. Greenie is looking up at you with worry, the green turning more faded then it was before. You ask if anything’s wrong, and he sits next to you, almost cuddling into your side. “Hey, is there something in the show bugging you? We can change it if you want to.”

He shook his head. “Then what’s wrong?”

“It’s about the monsters.”

“The monsters?” You look to the show and find the main characters destroying what looked like a horde of monsters. Yikes. “Is it because of the show? Because no one is actually going to do anything like that to the monsters.”

“But they’re different. People get scared of what’s new, right?”

This was starting to get heavy. You wanted to say no, but you couldn’t bring yourself to; you dealt with that first hand. So you ask instead. “Did you know the monsters?”

He nods. “I fell by accident. I didn’t know where I was, but they were kind to me. Once I showed them I meant no harm, they were really nice; a few of them I could call my friends. I couldn’t have made it as far as I did in the Underground if it weren’t for them.”

His hold on your sleeve tightens slightly. “I know you said that you don’t take requests, but could I ask if could try to do something?”

The immediate answer to your mouth was a no, but their face, you couldn’t refuse. “…Sure, as long as it’s nothing impossible like grabbing the moon. Otherwise I’ll keep myself in my seat and say I tried my best.”

He giggles at that. “If you see the monsters, could you please show them kindness?”

“Kindness?”

“Yeah. You’re really aren’t like most humans, but it’s a good thing. Aside from Frisk, I’m not sure if a lot of humans are going to react nicely, ‘specially the grown-ups.”

“Frisk?”

“Yeah! They’re the human who came with monsters.”

“Ah.”

“So, it is okay if I ask for that? Or is that too much of a request, like you said?”

You smile at him. “You don’t have to worry about it. You never had to ask it in the first place; I already planned on giving them a warm welcome.”

His eyes lit up at that; that and the surrounding green aura that surrounded him; although bright, it held a pleasant feeling to you. He then gave you a big hug, saying many thank yous, like you had promised him whatever he wanted at a candy store. You gave him a few pats on his head before you start muffle his hair with one hand and tickle his side with the other. You continue until he releases you, laughing and telling you to stop profusely. He then returns to the carpet floor next to Louise and continue the shows. You look over at Bernie and Xao, who give you an approving nod, and back at Louise and Greenie.

Writing green with envy doesn’t seem to fit anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thing to point out: Louise's text always has a copy of it bracketed since I am not sure how unreadable it is. It's supposed to emphasize their garbled voice, but if it's really bad, I may just stick to writing their words in brackets from now on.


End file.
